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Fundraising is at the core of your nonprofit’s day-to-day activities. Furthering your mission—the reason your organization exists—is made possible by bringing in enough revenue to run all of your programs and complete important projects.
Most organizations receive funds from multiple sources, including event revenue, corporate philanthropy, investments, and grants. But the bulk of nonprofit funding comes from individual donations. Fundraising in a way that boosts your organization’s credibility and building lasting relationships with individual supporters will set your nonprofit up for financial success.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through four best practices to help your nonprofit maximize donations:
Your organization’s fundraising strategy will be most effective if it’s data-driven and executed by expert professionals. Investing in nonprofit-specific tools, such as comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) software, will streamline your organization’s data collection and analysis. Additionally, providing ongoing training and certifications for your fundraisers will help them apply this data to adjust your approach as your organization grows. Let’s get started!
Nonprofits tend to bring in the majority of individual donations at the end of the calendar year and experience a lull during the summer months, which can make budgeting for year-round initiatives challenging. Creating a monthly giving program helps solve this problem by providing sustainable, ongoing revenue for your organization.
To get your program up and running, CharityEngine’s guide to monthly giving suggests these tips:
Besides providing reliable funding, creating a monthly giving program also increases supporter retention. When donors give to your organization regularly and receive benefits and recognition in return, they’ll feel valued by your nonprofit and more connected to your mission, which prompts them to continue donating and engaging with you.
Your supporters likely spend much of their time on their computers, tablets, and smartphones. Having a well-designed, user-friendly online donation form is essential for your nonprofit to meet donors where they are.
Try these strategies to optimize your donation page for the best possible user experience:
While a good donation form will use all of these strategies, a great donation form will tell a story that inspires supporters to give. Explain your nonprofit’s mission clearly, include eye-catching photos, and emphasize that accomplishing your mission is only possible because of individual donors’ generosity.
Corporate matching gifts allow your nonprofit to essentially double many of the individual donations you bring in. When a supporter who works for a company with a matching gift program makes a donation and submits a match request, their employer will contribute to your organization, usually at a 1:1 ratio.
According to Double the Donation, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to give if they know their contribution could be matched. However, it’s estimated that up to $7 billion in matching funds goes unclaimed each year, mainly because eligible donors aren’t aware that their employers have a matching gift program.
To take full advantage of this opportunity, embed a matching gift tool into your donation form to allow donors to find out if they’re eligible quickly and easily. Some of these tools offer auto-submission capabilities, which streamlines the match request process for supporters and for your organization. Also, make sure to market matching gifts to explain the process to supporters and remind them to check their eligibility.
Research shows that 80% of most nonprofits’ individual donation revenue comes from the top 20% of donors. Relationship-building is even more critical to secure these major gifts.
Follow these basic steps to cultivate major donors:
Major donors can be challenging to find, so retaining them is especially important. After they make their first contributions, write personalized thank-you notes (by hand if possible), recognize them publicly (with their permission), and send periodic progress updates to encourage them to keep supporting your mission over time.
While the best practices in this guide provide a starting point for maximizing your nonprofit’s donations, keep in mind that each organization is unique. Adapt these tips to your nonprofit’s individual needs and invest in the right resources to ensure you can fund your mission long-term.
December 19, 2022
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